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Terri Sjodin      

Founder & Principal of Sjodin Communications

Terri Sjodin, is the principal and founder of Sjodin Communications, a Public Speaking, Sales Training and Consulting Firm, based in Newport Beach, CA.

Sjodin is a professional speaker and consultant. Sjodin founded Sjodin Communications in 1990. Today, Sjodin’s clients include an impressive list of Fortune 500 companies, industry associations, and academic conferences. Her consulting practice has taken her from her house, to the US House of Representatives, where she was an opening keynote speaker for the US House of Representatives GOP Retreat addressing approximately 235 Congressmen and Women and over 100 Heads of State. This has led to additional invitations to present and coach leadership on “the Hill” including the House Republican Press Secretary Conference and the prestigious Heritage Foundation Resource Bank event.

She is the author of bestsellers “Small Message, Big Impact” and “Scrappy: A Little Book about Choosing to Play Big.”

Beyond her success as an entrepreneur and author, Sjodin is a frequent guest on radio and television talk shows throughout the country appearing on CNN, CNBC, and many major network affiliates for ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, cable and radio.

In August of 1999, Sjodin received the prestigious CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) designation. Less than 7% of the 5,000 speakers who belong to the International Federation for Professional Speakers hold this professional designation.

Sjodin graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Speech Communication. Before forming her own company, Sjodin was a top sales producer with both The Achievement Group and Resource Dynamics.

Speech Topics


Small Message, Big Impact: The Elevator Speech Effect

Don’t just think of an elevator speech as a generic tool you use in chance moments-consider the concept as a strategy to manage multiple talking points and to communicate more complex ideas as well.

Perhaps you want to promote an idea, a project or a concept. Maybe you are looking to create a more intriguing presentation to sell a product or service that will help you access more challenging decision makers.

How do you sell, persuade or move people to action? What actually makes you a person of influence? A vital element in moving people to action and creating influence is your ability to build and deliver a thought provoking presentation.

From elevator speeches to formal sales presentations you can craft a more compelling message. One that is persuasive rather than just informative.

In this session the audience will gain an understanding of:

  • How to build and deliver an effective 3-minute elevator speech
  • How to develop a persuasive case outline for any length presentation
  • How to re purpose your existing presentation content to create a new message
  • The six most consistently effective arguments in today’s market
  • The 3 benchmarks of a great presentation
  • How to employ the elevator speech effect and more!

The Art of Presenting Persuasively

What are the 12 Biggest Sales Presentation Mistakes people make and how do you avoid them? In this “must-attend” session, Terri will show you how to build and deliver a more polished and effective sales presentation – one that is persuasive rather than just informative. The focus will be on developing verbal communication skills for greater impact with clients, including how to develop a more creative style and hot tips on visual aids, body language, closing and more. Terri will share ideas and data from her national research studies, The State of Sales Presentations 2020 & 2022.

The audience will gain an understanding of:

  • The 12 biggest mistakes people make when presenting and how to avoid them
  • How to make your presentations persuasive rather than just informative
  • How to sell yourself through building and delivering a strong “case” for your message
  • How to present more effectively, whether one-on-one, one on one hundred or virtually
  • How to develop and maintain credibility and a dynamic, memorable presentation style
  • How to avoid “strange” body language and gesturing
  • How to channel fear and anxiety to work for you vs. against you when public speaking and presenting

How to Build Your Persuasive Case

Has your sales presentation become far too informative versus persuasive? In this breakout session, Terri will show you specific how-to’s for developing logical persuasive arguments in the body of your sales presentations, including strategies for handling objections. This is a roll-up-your-shirt-sleeves interactive session.

The Scrappy Advantage… It’s About Choosing to Play Big!

In today’s competitive market, it takes more than just showing up, more than persistence, more than just having a dream to reach your goals. Sometimes you have to roll up your shirt sleeves and get a little scrappy and creative to earn the right to be heard!

In this special session, attendees will get a sneak peek into Terri Sjodin’s new book, Scrappy: A Little Book About Choosing to Play Big (Penguin Random House August 2016). The American Heritage Dictionary defines “scrappy” as “…full of fighting-spirit.” The impetus of a scrappy mindset might begin when a person (insert you) has a specific goal with a specific challenge to circumvent, most likely within a certain time frame. Terri will share research, interview material and incredible stories from a variety of people from different industries who have pulled off seemingly impossible wins or achieved crazy, fun goals. This session will give you tactical ideas to help you execute on your vision of what you can accomplish… once you decide to get scrappy.

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